Washington. Despite an apparent rift between the United States and Israel over the military offensive in Rafah, Gaza, Washington is sending a modern arms and ammunition package to Israel worth more than $1 billion, according to three congressional aides. The White House has faced intense pressure from both sides of the political spectrum over its mighty military support for Israel in the seven-month-long war.
This is the first arms shipment to Israel announced by the Biden administration since it halted another transfer of 3,500 bombs earlier this month amid growing concerns over the Rafah attack. Some Democratic colleagues of U.S. President Joe Biden have urged him to limit offensive weapons transfers to Israel to pressure him to do more to protect Palestinian civilians, but Republicans have sharply criticized the holdup on weapons shipments.
The package sent includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million for tactical vehicles and $60 million for mortar ammunition, congressional aides said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public. There was no immediate indication of when the weapons would be shipped.
Republicans in the House of Representatives will advance the mandatory supplies bill
Meanwhile, Republicans in the US House of Representatives plan to present a bill this week requiring the supply of offensive weapons to Israel after Biden’s decision to suspend bomb shipments. Biden also warned that he would stop supplying weapons if Israeli forces launch a major invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge and thousands have been evacuated, a move further criticized by Republicans who said it represented an abandonment of its closest ally in the Middle East.
On Tuesday, the White House said Biden would veto the bill if it passes the US Congress. The bill also has virtually no chance in the Democrat-controlled Senate. But House Democrats are somewhat divided on the issue, and about two dozen people have signed on to a letter to the Biden administration expressing “deep concern about the message” coming from halting the bomb shipments.
One of the letter’s signatories, Recent York state Republican Ritchie Torres, said he would likely vote for the bill despite White House opposition. “My general rule is that I support pro-Israel legislation unless it contains a poison pill – such as domestic policy cuts,” he said.
Israel is pushing deeper into Rafah
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Israeli tanks pushed deeper into Rafah, reaching some residential areas of the southern Gaza border city where more than a million people had sought refuge. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “appalled” by the escalation of military operations in and around Rafah, which further hampers the delivery of desperately needed aid and worsens “an already dire situation.”
Additionally, Israel said it struck a UN-run school in central Gaza on Tuesday, allegedly killing 15 militants who were using part of the school as a “war room” for Hamas commanders. A UN convoy had been hit the previous day by an Israeli attack that killed an Indian staff member and injured another.
About 450,000 Palestinians were forced out of Rafah in southern Gaza last week, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday. No food has arrived at the two main border crossings in the southern Gaza Strip for the past week, and approximately 1.1 million Palestinians are struggling with catastrophic levels of hunger.
(with inputs from AP)
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